Macabre Sacrifice
by genieforyourworld
Summary: AU/ I was fifteen when I met my fate on the bus. When I was sixteen, I stared death in the eye for the first time. By the time I turned seventeen and met him, I knew my life would never be the same, for I had fallen in love with a monster. /NaruHina/
1. end of the world

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

I was _fifteen_ when I met my **fate **on the bus.

When I was _sixteen_, I stared **death **in the eye for the first time.

By the time I turned _seventeen _and met **him**, I knew my life would never be the same,

for I had fallen in _**love with a monster**_.

...

_& when I saw his face for the first time_

_I saw an angel _

_Instead of the monster I knew he was cursed to be_

* * *

_Macabre _Sacrifice

* * *

_So..._

"_What's your name?"_

"_Hyuuga Hinata."_

"_Well, Hyuuga Hinata, welcome to the __end of the world__."_

**

* * *

****y**e_a_r **o**_n_e

I had always hated Mondays.

I really don't remember a Monday where I didn't have some kind of bad luck.

My Mum died on a Monday. Mondays were always the days where everyone wanted to just stay in bed. Escape from the world. They were the days that everyone wanted to just get over with. My cousin came to live with us on a Monday – he hated me until I was about twelve. Monday was the day when the clan members would have their weekly 'discussion'. Also known as the meeting to decide/control _my_ future.

But the real life changing moment was on the Monday of my fifteenth birthday. Not that I knew it, of course.

By this time, Neji had cut himself off from the family. He would talk to me sure, now and then. But he always seemed even more troubled than usual. He would sneak out at night and cut school. If he were caught, he would be confronted first thing in the morning, contracting an argument and a string of shouts.

On that day, my father wanted to keep me off school, but I went anyway, anywhere was better than my home.

I went to an overly large private school about a half hour drive away in the centre of town. Going on my own initiative meant going on the bus. Konoha is not exactly the safest place for a teenage girl to be wondering about on her own in a posh school uniform, especially in the district I would have to commute through.

I had taken the route before, just once though, about a year before, but Neji was with me that day. He knew where he was going.

But I remembered the way.

I started earlier than usual to give my self time in case I got lost. Better safe than sorry. It would take two different buses to get there. I got on the first after about five minutes of waiting.

It was chilly so I pressed my jacket closer to my body, my shoulder length violet hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail to keep it out of the way. As time went by, I was still shivering with the rapidly falling temperature. However, I was just glad that no other passenger had given me a second glance.

When I stepped off the bus, the weather was no better outside.

I knew I was in the middle of East Konoha, but the streets were deserted save for the dark haired teen sitting on the bus stop's bench, eyes focused on a single point on the dirty pavement. I had been the only person to get off the bus. Swallowing slowly, I sat down on the other end of the bench, as far away as possible; the place was well known for its unexplainable murders and disappearances.

I was tempted to ask the boy if my bus had come shortly before and I had missed it, but his intimidating appearance put me off.

Even sitting down I could tell he was a good few inches taller than me, but he was definitely my age. His pale complexion, spiky hair and cold distant eyes upon his handsome face seemed vaguely familiar. Yet I knew I could not have known someone from this district, my father would never have allowed it. I had to wonder if he was cold in just a short sleeved t-shirt and black jeans, a large slice across one knee and untied dark Converses.

I opened my mouth to speak but realised that he more than likely would ignore me, was too deep in thought to notice or couldn't possibly hear my meek voice over the rock music pumping through his headphones. I could hear every word of the lyrics, every bang of the drums and the thumping bass from my place as clear as day. It wasn't exactly my taste, and couldn't believe how unfazed he was at the amplitude.

Pulled back to reality out of my thoughts by the roar of a single car's engine that blew past at such velocity I nearly missed it, I noticed that he was staring at me through the corner of his eye. I closed my mouth and turned my head to face the road, hoping he wouldn't see my face flush in embarrassment.

As I tried to get over the shame of being caught staring, the bus pulled up. The boy sat up straight and leaned against the back of the bench, a smirk spread across his face. Wanting to get out of there as fast as I could, I stepped onto the packed bus and paid for my ticket earning a weird smile from the driver.

I could feel the eyes of all the other passengers upon me. I hated being the centre of attention so I darted for the first open seat, next to another kid my age. This time it was a girl. She was looking out the window, waving and smiling at the boy on the bench and I realised she was the one he was smirking at. He lightly shook his head at her antics.

She continued as the bus pulled away until he was out of sight.

She turned to me, smile still spread across her features, "Hi."

I took in her striking appearance during my shock that some stranger had just spoken to me like we were best friends. Her hair was unusual, long, I'd say it went down to her mid-back (if it was not tied back in a high ponytail) and _pink _but somehow suiting her, framing her face perfectly. Her eyes were a large emerald green, standing out amongst the contrast of her red t-shirt and long pale shorts, knee length socks and sneakers.

"H-Hello," I muttered in such a low voice I was sure that it was impossible to comprehend.

Unfortunately for me, the girl remained unfazed as if we were both talking at the same level.

"I've never seen you come this way before. Are you new to town or something?"

I was a complete stranger and she was talking casually to me like we were the best of friends despite her actual words.

"N-No, I just...I wanted a change in scenery that's all." I was stuttering again. Somehow my nerves and lack of communication skills (due to being kept locked up for most of my life with nothing but relatives and my fathers business partners) _always _got the better of me.

"Oh. Well, where abouts are you from? Where are you heading?" Still so _chirpy_…

"Um…I live on the North Side. I'm on my way to school."

"Which school, 'cause looking at your uniform says it all, what with the little schools around here, and well…all the kids rebel and stuff." I don't think I knew anyone who could talk so fast. But then again living with the _Hyuuga_, I suppose they were possibly slower than everybody else because everything is so damn _formal_.

"Um…I doubt you would of heard of it. It's a private school on a backstreet in Central Konoha." I really didn't want to tell this girl - who I didn't know - anything about me. My Father never approved of me talking to strangers for any reason whatsoever.

"Oh yeah?" she smirked, in a fashion much to similar to that of the boy at the bus stop. "Try me. I know this city like the back of my hand. _Better _than most." Her emphasis on the word 'better' made me swallow slowly. She was dangerous, this girl. She had this sense of intimidation about her, and gave off an aura that she was far more intelligent than the average teenager her age.

And then she laughed, just a short chuckle really, but that bittersweet smirk was gone and a genuine smile (or she was just a very good actor) filled it's place.

I could feel my face pale slightly. She was confusing and complicated. There was something extremely _off_ about her. I knew that much. Call it a sixth sense if you will. Maybe I should have stayed off school that day, be the daughter my Father wanted me to be for just a few hours or so. Then maybe I wouldn't be dealing with _her _right now.

Or maybe I just needed to be out of this part of town.

"Don't worry sweetie, I don't _bite_." The pink haired girl - as I would acknowledge her as from now on when ever I recalled this meeting in the close future - giggled softly as if it was a joke only she understood (which it most likely was). Her face turned serious in an unreadable way as she looked away from me properly for the first time since she started the conversation. "But there are some freaking _monsters_ out there who will." Her tone had turned sharp.

I looked forward, away from this crazy girl, whispering an almost silent "yeah."

The silence between us was harsh and patronizing. The ambiguous chatter and muttering of the other commuters was nothing but background noise. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye surreptitiously. Her expression unreadable, gaze transfixed ahead of her. I realised she was deep in thought.

I jumped slightly when she suddenly turned back to face me, smile back in place. "So…you never did say your schools name?" Immediately she was back to interrogating me on a subject I had no intention of informing her about. When the bus pulled over, I jumped ungracefully - barely managing to catch myself from falling - up onto my feet, mumbling, "This is my stop," I rushed out of the confined space and out onto the dirty pavement, dodging passengers who were standing up as best I could. It wasn't really my stop, but I needed to get rid of that feeling of paranoia.

I breathed in the stale air, glad to be away from the strange characters on that bus. They didn't seem right to me at all. Particularly the pink haired girl.

My school was at least a ten, maybe fifteen, minute walk from here. At least I was almost at the edge of the freak-show district and close to the Centre of Konoha, on one of the long main roads. It ran straight through the city directly to the West Side.

With a deep breath, I set off on my way.

**

* * *

****y**e_a_r **t**_w_o

At my school, the posh snobbish place that it was, every year group had at least one rebel student. The rest of us were taught manners and courtesy from birth - too afraid to speak out. After all, clan well-fare and reputation came first with the upper classes of Konoha.

In the year ahead of mine, Neji was the so called 'rebel.' Although he was silent and kept to himself, he'd cut classes or came in late or left early, and those only occurred on the days he _rarely _showed up on.

It aggravated my Father and the other important members of the clan as well as the teachers. Expulsion was never really an option, Father contributed too much to the school money wise, also, he was on the governing board. I had attended one meeting with between him and the deputy head about Neji's behaviour. I had been sent out half way through, but I could still hear the shouting match.

Anyway, the unruly, loud, annoyingly cheeky brat in my year group was Inuzuka Kiba. He was brash, always getting ahead of himself and drove everybody crazy with his snide remarks, terrible jokes and laidback I'm-better-than-all-of-you attitude.

So, just after a year since my last trip by myself, I was partnered up with Kiba and Aburame Shino (a quiet, yet extremely tall boy) for an English assignment on a novel of our choice. Kiba chose _Dracula_.

I personally would have gone for more of a _Withering Heights _or_ Pride and Prejudice _sort of thing. But I was with two boys here.

"Sometimes you need a good scare in life, Hinata. You know, prepare your self for the future." His sadistic grin made my stomach churn. I _really _didn't want to know what he meant by that. I kept quiet and began reading, making only the slightest comment here and there. I really did not want to have to complete this assignment by myself.

It was awkward to say the least, I mean, Kiba and Shino were always together. But there was nothing between any of us. No communication. No words, eye contact, no _anything_.

Kiba got bored all to quickly, slowly ripping out random pages in different parts of his copy, to the misfortune of whoever would have to read it next. Shino never touched his, a quiet comment of, "I have already read it," was the only explanation we got.

...

As we were told to work on it over the weekend, I convinced them to meet me at the library (directions had to be given to Kiba) to do so. Father dropped me off not too far away when we were stuck in traffic. He was running late for a business meeting with some big executive of something and told me to get out, be wary and walk the rest of the way. And like the fool I was, did so.

You know that silly cliché feeling of being watched when walking down a busy street on your own? Yeah, well, that's the feeling I had when I rounded the corner.

Whoever said there was safety in numbers was stupid. People disappear from right under everybody's noses all the time. I was _almost _one of them.

I was almost at the library entrance when a hand - a _sickly_ pale, _rock _hard, _freezing _cold hand - grabbed me by the elbow. I was too slow to yell or cry for help as I was dragged down the side of the building and around to the back, another hand covered my mouth shut.

Somehow, I knew that biting it would not be in my favour. I was pinned against the wall with the hand that had previously been on my elbow. There would be a bruise in the morning. I couldn't do anything at that moment other than look up into my attacker's face only to be met with two luminous red eyes.

At first, I figured they were just bloodshot and this was some doped up drug abuser, but they were pure red. Dark, and filled with an emotion that could be called malice, or _hunger_.

He, or rather, _it_ opened it's mouth, my eyes impossibly widening even more at the sight of two large, long and sharp _fangs_.

_It _wasn't human. I didn't like science lessons very much, and I hated going to the dentist, but I knew no human had _freaking fangs _like _that_.

"Hyuuga blood… I think I might just savour this." It's voice was cruel and violent, sharp edged, just like it's teeth.

_Oh God! _I was so sure I would die there, at that moment, staring death in the face. But suddenly the pressure was gone and a slam of a body made of stone pulsated through the ground under my feet.

The person who had saved me was a figure in black: dark clothes, dark hair. His skin was pale and fair, but still held more colour than the monster laying in the dirt.

When he turned his head over his shoulder to look at me, I gasped suddenly, not because of his red eyes (bright crimson, like blood - not like his victim's), but in recognition. The only real difference from the last time was that he'd grown taller. He was that boy. The one from the bus stop. From just over a year ago.

"You're alright." It was not stated as a question.

I slowly nodded my head once.

I stared down at the body. A long silver blade struck through where it's heart should have been. A sword. How on earth did he have a sword? I studied the creature. No blood. Not a drop, not even on his blade. I swallowed hard.

"Sasuke?" A voice broke through the tense silence. Loud and boisterous that could only belong to one person. I stood in fear as Kiba emerged from the shadows, coming closer to us. He didn't see me, huddled against the wall, terrified.

"Aw, damn," he began, rubbing the back of his neck. "I smelt one of those bastards and came out to see what was going on. They're getting cockier by the minute." I had never seen him look so serious in all my life. Red tattoos on each of his cheeks, lanky build and messy brown hair - I couldn't believe it, but this really was Inuzuka Kiba in front of me. And he knew what that _thing _was.

"The one that went for Sakura?" This Sasuke person just nodded his head. Even from behind I could tell his face was impassive.

Kiba's eyes widened at this. "Wow, how come he's not dead then? I thought you'd have ripped the throat out of it by now."

It wasn't dead? Now I really wanted to just faint.

Sasuke was slightly shorter than Kiba, but their eye level was pretty much equal. "Orders. They want it for interrogation," he replied bitterly, pulling free his sword and sliding it into the sheath strapped to his back. I could pretty much feel the glare he was directing towards my assailant.

I looked on in shock. It was like they had completely overlooked me, _I was invisible_.

Suddenly, as if reading my mind, Sasuke turned to look at me, shoving his hands in his pockets. His eyes were the same bottomless black as they had been during our first encounter. Maybe I had just imagined the red in his eyes after seeing that monster. Kiba followed his gaze and I swear his jaw dropped slightly. "H-Hinata! That motherfucker went for _her?" _

"The Hyuuga blood was most likely what it wanted. Not her directly."

"Neji was with Sakura that day, right?"

"Ah."

"Yeah, she reeks of that prissy bastard alright."

They stared at me long and hard for what seemed like an eternity. My brain was telling me to run, but my feet wouldn't comply. _What the hell was going on? _What was that thing? My cousin was involved in this somehow, that's why it went for me. I knew that. Something told me the pink haired girl from that day last year was too, involved in all this. However, I needed more. Yet I could not open my mouth. I could not speak.

Their voices dragged me out of my scrambled thoughts. "So where's Naruto then? I take it he was sent out with you if Sakura's still-"

"She's fine," Sasuke snapped before Kiba could finish. The darker haired boy sighed and shook his head. "Naruto went charging off again. He can make his own way back."

Kiba rolled his eyes and grinned. "_Typical_."

He walked over to me then and slung his arms around my shoulders. "Well we can't just leave her here. Poor thing's shaking, might as well drop her home on the way."

"We?" Sasuke inquired.

"After what happened to your car, the poor baby, my guess is someone else dropped you off, right? Which means we are going to have to use mine."

He sighed again. "Whatever, but you're helping me carry that thing," he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing at the still, unmoved body.

**

* * *

y**e_a_r **t**_h_r_e_e

By the time I was seventeen, the number of missing persons in Konoha had increased rapidly. I had a feeling of whoor _what _was causing the majority.

I never really had friends in school. Mostly I'd spend my lunch hour and breaks in the library getting ahead with my homework or read a good book.

Although, Kiba would often come up to me and just talk. Idyllic teen chat, nothing about the day last year where he and that Sasuke boy had saved me from that _thing_.

From the second they threw it's body in the boot of Kiba's cheap old banger of a car - it made me sick to know that it was actually alive while they treated it like a heavy rag doll, not that I felt any remorse for the thing, I would never have to see it again - we never brought the incident up again. The car ride home (they knew where I lived. _Neji, _I figured) was just typical conversation for two teenagers - I stayed silent, even though they spent most of the journey just arguing over the radio.

My cousin asked me later that night when he snuck in if I was feeling alright. I lied and told him I was. Truthfully, I just wanted to curl up in bed and wake up in the morning to find that the whole thing was a dream. But life's a bitch - spend too much time talking to Kiba and he rubs off on you - and things do not work out the way you want them to.

I wanted to forget the entire thing.

It was late - approximately three in the morning when Neji shook me awake.

Stunned for a minute or two, I stared at him in bewilderment while trying to regain by bearings. He told me to hurry up and get dressed. When I tried to ask him why, it was just a simple sharp reply of, "Not now. Hurry up."

He practically sprinted down and out the front door. If it weren't for the emotionless facade he had on, I would have guessed he was frantic about something, after all he pretty much dragged me down the stairs by my wrist.

There was a car I'd never seen before parked outside the entrance gates - which were luckily unlocked, so we snuck through them quickly after Neji timed the security camera's movements and went against them - pulling me along behind him.

Someone already inside had opened the back door and Neji hurried me inside it before going into the passenger seat in front of me. We were off in an instant. And I had no idea as to where.

The silver car, even though it only had seats for five people, was bigger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. Someone switched one of the overhead lights on (though it was still rather dim) as we turned the corner off of the road our mansion (because that's really how big the house is) was on.

Lost in confusion, I looked at Neji talking to the driver. A girl - brunette hair tied up in two buns. I did not even attempt to try and comprehend what they were speaking about.

I looked to my left to see the other two backseats alongside mine were occupied. Sasuke was in the window seat, furthest from me. He was leaned up against the window, eyes closed and appeared to be asleep.

A blond boy sat between us.

However, he appeared to be far more occupied and amused with poking Sasuke in the cheek as if trying to get on his nerves.

I kept silent and as close to my own window as possible, confused as to why the hell I had been dragged out of bed at three in the morning and lumbered into a car with a bunch of strangers (because that's still how I saw Sasuke) and my insane cousin.

A resounding slap was heard and my attention was turned to the shrieking blond, who was clutching his cheek in what looked like agony. "You asshole! What the hell was that for?"

"Don't touch me you moron," Sasuke retorted.

"Oh, you bastard I'm gonna-"

"Naruto!" Neji turned around and interrupting him, a firm warning held in his voice. The girl driving just giggled.

Naruto, as his name seemed to be, huffed and sulked to himself for a moment.

He must have noticed me, for the first time, out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face me, baffled and confused for a moment, debating whether he knew me or not (as I found out later on).

Deciding on the latter he held his hand out to me, looked me in the eyes, big cheeky grin spread out across his features. Naruto had six whisker like marks on his cheeks, split into two sets of three, very unusual.

But, when I looked into those azure eyes, the brightest blue I had ever seen, I saw someone. I saw all of him. He was strong, courageous, brilliant, amazing, alluring. Naruto was special.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he declared, formally introducing himself, as I gently took his hand.

I could feel the heat flush to my face at that moment. I must have looked stupid, turning bright red and feeling light-headed, as if I was going to faint.

I didn't even notice we'd stopped shaking hands until he looked at me like I was a freak. Great first impression or what?

"So…uh…what's your name?" he drawled. If possible, my blush turned ten shades darker in embarrassment.

"Tch, idiot," came a mumble somewhere from behind him, but I barely noticed it as I tried to gather my words.

"Hy-Hyuuga Hin-Hinata," I smiled weakly, inwardly cursing the stuttering.

Naruto's next grin topped the last one in terms of brilliance as he laughed, "Well Hyuuga Hinata, welcome to the end of the world!"

* * *

**The idea for this has been swimming around in my mind for months now. I had a rough draft of the first section down but I've tweaked it and turned it into, well…this. **

**This is a vampire story and if anyone mentions **_**twilight **_**I will kill them. **

**Feedback and Review please. Greatly appreciated. ****J**


	2. chosen

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

_& when I saw his face for the first time_

_I saw an angel _

_Instead of the monster I knew he was cursed to be_

* * *

Macabre _Sacrifice_

* * *

_I was never special_

_Why should I be __chosen__ to do anything?_

_I don't want this_

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke bickered and fought like a pair of five year olds over every little thing for the rest of the car journey. Eventually they hit a nerve in Neji after he told them to "shut the fuck up, I'm getting a bloody migraine listening to you."

Naruto counteracted by going into a debate about how my cousin is such a girl, what with all the complaining and hair care.

Sasuke defended himself with a simple, "Piss off Hyuuga."

"You can't talk Sasuke, you're just as bad! Hinata, he spends over an hour on his hair alone in the morning, he takes forever in the shower and has to make sure his clothes for the day are 'perfect.' I don't know how Kakashi can put up with him." Naruto enjoyed ranting on about the other two males in the car. Tenten - the girl driving laughed at their misery. I smiled along with Naruto, almost forgetting all the questions that needed to be answered. Almost.

Eventually, we drove past a sign that at one point had said _Welcome to East Konoha_, although now the words were barley eligible, what with graffiti, dirt and missing letters.

After not too long, Tenten parked up in a driveway. The house was large, terraced and at least three floors high, the type that was split into three separate apartments or flats. The neighbourhood, I guessed, would have been pretty remarkable when first built. But now… windows were smashed or boarded up. Some were no doubt derelict. Others had broken 'for sale' signs from years ago. Only one or too street lamps were on, the rest broken and damaged.

The air outside reeked of something I couldn't for the life of me place. I could hear police sirens faintly in the background, somewhere not to far off in the distance.

Sasuke was already up the steps and unlocking the door, Naruto not to far behind him, informing us all about how tired he was and could sleep for the rest of the week. Sasuke mumbled in a "shut up," obviously not impressed with the blond.

Neji too wasn't enthralled and told him to stop shouting and get inside, before grabbing the keys off of Sasuke, saying something along the lines of "wear your glasses if your sight is getting worse, Uchiha."

_Uchiha?_ Why did that ring a bell somewhere in the back of my head?

Tenten was standing beside me, giving me a sympathetic look. "Don't worry," she began. "It will get better, you'll see. We'll explain everything a little later, just get some sleep first, you can have my room."

At least this girl somewhat knew how I was feeling. Overwhelmed, freaked out, confused and scared. These kids - my cousin included - were far from _normal_.

But I felt kind of bad, taking this girl's bedroom, especially since we'd only just met. "I'll be okay, I don't want to intrude," I whispered quietly.

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed, taking me by the wrist and leading me into the house. "I'll just kip out in Sakura's room for now, if I feel the need to sleep. You will not believe how many cups of coffee I've had in the last twenty-four hours."

"Oh…um… thanks then."

"No problem."

I didn't get to see much, but the house that these kids were supposed to be living in was huge (all the floors in use). Tenten was too busy dragging me all the way up the stairs to the top floor - somewhere on the second a door slammed shut with a loud thud. She pulled me along the hallway, four doors along it.

She led me into the second on the right, switching on the light. The sudden brightness caused my eyes to shut in an automatic reflex. After a few blinks though, my eyes began to adjust and I took in the room. Tenten, unaffected, was bustling around, picking up clothes and normal teenage girl junk (things I didn't possess) and tossing the whole lot into a corner.

The walls were once white, but paint splodges of all sizes and hues decorated what wasn't covered in posters and photographs, it was as though she had just flicked and tossed the paint straight out of the tin.

There was a queen sized bed pushed into a corner underneath a small window, the blinds were shut.

Standing tall for a moment, hands against her hips, Tenten was contemplating something. After the slight pause, she turned over her shoulder to look at me with a friendly smile.

"You must be tired. The boys are most likely out for the count by now, except maybe Sasuke," at this she frowned, "if you need anything at all don't be afraid to ask. Help yourself to pyjamas or clothes or anything. I'll be in the room across the hall or downstairs in the kitchen."

I wasn't sure why exactly, but I somewhat trusted her - at least more than I did the others, expect for maybe Naruto. So far, he came across as loud, stupid, silly and irresponsible. However, in the back of head, I could hear my voice telling me that he wasn't all that he appeared to be.

The brunette girl yawned slightly and walked slowly towards the door. "Tenten?"

She turned back around to meet my eye, eyebrow raised in question.

"I just wanted to say thank you," my voice barely above a whisper, gaze directed toward the old carpet.

"Don't worry Hinata," I could tell her expression had softened, her voice holding an almost sympathetic tone. "It will get better soon. We'll go see Tsunade later." And with one final smile, she was gone.

And I was left alone to my thoughts.

...

I had pretty much forced myself into a few hours of sleep but the sun was steadily rising in the sky when I opened the blinds. Few pale orange and pink streaks still lined the horizon. It would be a clear day.

Or, at least, I hoped it would be.

I pulled off the pyjamas I'd found in a drawer and put back on the clothes I'd arrived in.

I quietly tiptoed down the stairs as slowly as I could until I reached the bottom. Following the long corridor towards the back of house, I passed an empty living room, a bathroom until, right at the end I walked into a spacious kitchen and dining room combo.

The room was empty, apart from myself, as far as I noticed, so I walked over to stand in front of the sink and reached for one of the clean glasses set along the side. After filling it up with water but only taking the smallest sip, my head started spinning. Again.

Leaning against the counter, I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and sighed slowly.

"It's not the end of the world yet. Get over yourself."

Needless to say, I practically jumped out of my skin at the sound of Sasuke's voice. I did not turn around. I did not move any muscle in my body. I just stood there for what seemed like hours - frozen in an icy silence.

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled so he wouldn't hear. But he heard anyway, which (much to my surprise) didn't shock me.

I went over at sat in the chair opposite him at a very large wooden table. Sasuke looked up from the novel he was reading, his fingers blocking the title from my view, and narrowed his eyes at me. "What?"

His voice was almost simple, like he didn't care if I would answer him or not.

I looked up into his jet black eyes - they too were void of anything inkling towards emotion. He'd changed a great deal since I last saw him. His bangs were slightly longer, he was taller still, his lip was pierced and was he wearing eyeliner? On first glance, he was a typical emo or scene kid. But what really stood out about Sasuke was that he looked as if he had not slept properly in days, maybe even weeks.

This guy rattled my brain so much I let curiosity get the better of me. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

"No." A straightforward answer, no hesitation.

There was a half full mug of tea that had long since gone cold in front of him and an iPod with it's headphones tangled and thrown carelessly on the table.

"You're not tired?" I pried further. Start out small, then try to get bigger information out of him, mainly what had to do with me, that was my plan.

"Not really," he shrugged. His gaze went back down to the book.

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but he beat me to it.

"I'm not in any position to tell you what they want you for. It's none of my business anyway. It's a mere coincidence that we've met this time and the last."

I didn't know what to say to that. But before I could think of a reply, someone else came bounding into the room.

"Good morning lovely people of Konoha! The sun is shining and the birds are singing, a perfect day to-"

"It's raining you idiot."

Naruto froze on the spot, flabbergasted by Sasuke's statement. I looked out the large windows, sure enough, he was right. So much for a clear day.

"Oh you have to ruin everything, don't you? The weather is always miserable when your around. It's that negative view of _everything _around you! You need to learn how to be a little optimistic, Sasuke." Said boy closed his eyes in frustration while Naruto turned to face me and I looked back at him in confusion.

"And now you've depressed poor Hinata with your gloominess. You could've at least cut the new girl some slack, but _noooo_… What am I going to do with you? Damn, I can't wait 'til Sakura's back on her feet, she'll be able to-"

"There's nothing wrong with her!" Sasuke stood up so abruptly Naruto was cut off and I was left silent. He picked up his things and headed towards the door, pausing before he left. "You of all people should know that," his voice was a whisper, but his anger was evident. He carried on walking out. A few seconds later, the front door slammed.

Naruto stood still for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. He looked over at me and cracked a small smile and sat in the seat Sasuke had just been occupying. "Don't mind him Hinata, he'll calm down eventually."

"Will he be alright?"

His smile broadened slightly. "Now don't you go blaming yourself for his little tantrum there. I shouldn't have brought Sakura into it."

Her name kept coming up. I took it she must mean a great deal to Sasuke, he wasn't happy when Kiba mentioned her that day a year ago either.

I met Naruto's blue - _like the sky _- eyes. In them, like last night, I saw so much. Reassurance. Comfort. Happiness. _Pain. _

"Naruto…"

"Look, I know this all seems scary, I mean, nobody's told you a thing have they. But Hinata, your in too much danger now. The world's not what it seems."

I looked blankly at him. Where was this going?

"That vampire," I blinked rapidly at this, "you met, it's just one thing out there. But the _bloodsuckers _are some of the worst. It's rough that one was your first real encounter in our world."

Naruto was the first person to be honest with me. I liked him for that. But it didn't mean I wasn't freaked out by what he was saying. _There was an entire supernatural universe outside my front door? _

But he looked at me sadly for a moment. "Things are going to get worse soon, I can just feel it in my bones. But Hinata, you're going to be meeting quite a few new faces soon. And trust me, none of them are what they seem. Not Neji, not Sakura, not Sasuke, and especially not me."

Trust him. I could do that. But his last words rung in my brain. What could be so bad about him?

I just nodded at him.

Naruto's grin widened again and I felt so safe, so comforted by it. And those stupid butterflies in my stomach were fluttering like crazy.

"You're a special one, you know that. I can tell by just looking at you."

However, before I could open my mouth and speak back to him, Tenten came hurrying into the room and smacked the back of his head. "_What_," she hissed, "did you say to him?"

Naruto laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah… about that…"

I silently prayed everything would be alright.

* * *

**Sorry for the lateness, I've been really busy until recently. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! It was greatly appreciated. **

**It's not that I hate Twilight, I'm just not a major hardcore fan. In my opinion it's very overrated. I've read better and worse. But it just seems to be that everything that is even slightly remotes to vampires comes back to the saga in someway. **

**I was slightly vague last time, but there will be more creatures and such other than vampires, but they are the main antagonists in the plot so far. Naruto, for example, is something else. Kiba too. Hinata is human though. As for everyone else, you'll have to wait and see. **

**Review ****J**


	3. insanity

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Macabre _Sacrifice_

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_these people were coated in __insanity_

_they made you want to run and cower in fear_

_to run and cling to life as best as you could_

* * *

I swallowed hard while staring at the thick metal doors in front of us - Naruto, Neji, Tenten and myself. The only other girl in our small group was talking (well, shouting at) to who I assumed was a guard. He stifled a yawn and raised a long brown eyebrow at her, as if she hadn't so much as said a word to him.

We had left the house not so much as half an hour ago before we arrived at a small rundown warehouse in a secluded yet derelict part of Konoha (cliché or what?). Sasuke didn't return. And not one of the others looked seemingly too worried about him either.

Back to the present. The guy was slouched against the wall eyes lazily skimming over us, silently calculating. His dark hair was pulled back into a short ponytail and his body tall, lanky and slim. But despite his initial careless aura I had the feeling that he could probably hold his own in a fight. Most likely my age as well.

"She's in a meeting. You're going to have to wait," he drawled.

"She told us to be here for twelve, Shikamaru. It's twelve now!"

"Stop being a perfectionist Tenten, you know what Tsunade's like," Shikamaru replied to the frustrated girl.

He peered over his shoulder and locked eyes with me, his interests suddenly peaking as he straightened out. He quickly smirked at Neji beside me. "Told you, Hyuuga. It was going to happen sooner or later."

Once again, I was left in the dark. In school I had no problem with being invisible, but here, as of recent occurrences, I was desperate inside to know what part I had in all this secret vampire killing organisation stuff that was taking over my life.

My cousin scoffed in annoyance.

"Hey Shikamaru, what's so important that the old granny has to keep _me _waiting?" Naruto approached the boy and slung an arm around his shoulder as though he was an old friend. Maybe they were old friends. But then again, Naruto is a person who you could get to know on the spot. And he's not someone you forget easily either. I knew I wouldn't forget him anytime soon.

Shikamaru sighed quietly but didn't shrug Naruto off. "If I knew that I wouldn't be here," he answered.

"You're no fun Shikamaru," Naruto pouted. "I say we just go on in there and make her tell us."

"Why don't you go in before us and get your face punched in," Neji suggested as though he wanted Naruto to end up battered and bruised. He stuck his tongue out childishly in return.

...

We waited for another few minutes. It may just have been me, but time seemed to drag out, slowly turning, holding me back when everyone else was speeding ahead.

I was falling behind again.

_Again._

Tsunade was a fierce woman, with eyes that could carve years worth of secrets out of the strongest person, a face younger than her years that was stern, serious and bared witness to too many horrors of the past. And that's only what I assumed in my first five minutes in the woman's presence.

She addressed me, giving me some answers, as though I were a small child taking her first steps into the world behind the front door.

An organisation. Monsters. Hunting vampires and those that stray from the laws of the supernatural world. Death. Blood. Lots and lots of blood.

Her voice was hard, yet tired - brutally honest. There was pretty much one hidden message behind her tone.

I was going to join them.

My head felt like a big city during rush hour. Thoughts racing and pounding into each other, a swirling vortex going out of control.

Neji's brow furrowed. Tenten looked expectant.

Naruto smiled that bright cheesy grin.

It was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

...

I struggled to breathe.

There was a howl. A wolf howling into the moon. Miserable, crying out in agony or sorrow I couldn't understand. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

A dark figure was standing next to me. Ready to snap, go for the kill. They moved for their prey faster than lightning. A flash invisible to the naked eye.

I breathed out in relief. Who, whatever they were, they were an ally. One who could most likely kill me with a snap of his fingers.

The sky was red. Darker than blood. Heavy on the planet, a sign from the gods of destruction and anguish and pain. _Pain, pain and more pain._

The ground tore up. The air burdened with an aura so deadly, so poisonous, I was gradually choking.

Silly little Hinata wanted to scream. Scream until my voice box collapsed in on itself.

I could not breathe.

...

I awoke in a small room. Cold and lonely.

But I wasn't alone.

Someone had their knuckles resting gently on my forehead. "She… wake… soon…"

Another voice, feminine and familiar, "…collapse … shock…" Words hovered in the air; they couldn't reach my ears.

My fingers twitched, my entire body was aflame, burning with aches and pains. My eyelids carried a great burden - hard to lift no matter how desperately I wanted them to.

Flickers of light fluttered before me. On and off. On and off. An endless cycle until a great burst of white and colour evaded my eyesight.

A woman with short dark hair stood over me, stethoscope latched around her neck. A girl stood next to her, about my age, bright pink hair - cut to her shoulders - and eerily familiar green eyes.

Neji was at the far end of the room (at least, I think it's a room) with a face as placid as ever, Tenten close to his side.

My eyes blinked several times, adjusting to the brightness above me.

Then my vision was obstructed. A mix of bright blue (like the never-ending sky, remember?) and blond locks.

I could feel my cheeks change to a deep pink hue at Naruto's close proximity.

"Thank goodness you're alright! Had me worried for a moment, so don't you go fainting like that again."

_Faint_? What was he talking about?

Oh right…_ I remember…_

Death. Murder. Monsters. Vampires. And a _nightmare_. At least I would prefer to think of it as a nightmare. I mean, who has _normal _dreams with wolves and danger and blood and people who vanish like lightning.

His gentle, smiling face was replaced all to quickly by a hand.

"Come on, up you get," his voice was filled with excitement and an eagerness my mind seemed unable to place. "Tsuande's got a mission for us, can't keep those bastard monsters waiting!"

_Oh damn…_

I looked between his face and his hand for a short moment before realising it was extended in order to pull me up out of the comforts of a strange bed and into the nightmare world.

* * *

**I'm horrible for not updating. Sorry.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed though!**

**Happy New Year.**


	4. a stake of pure silver

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

Macabre_ Sacrifice_

* * *

_**vampire**_

_an un-dead creature of the night. vampires survive on the blood of humans; perfectly designed for the hunt. supercharged senses make these monsters well equipped for survival – which can be centuries long._

_they are cunning, intelligent and mostly nocturnal (although they can remain in the sunlight for short periods of time) and difficult to kill. a stake or bullet of pure silver through the heart will usually get the job done. others may starve from a lack of feeding, as well as several other problematic methods._

* * *

I was never really a fan of monster or ghost stories as I was growing up. In fact, I wasn't particularly fond of fairy tales that were dictated to us in infant school (I never had bedtime stories of princesses and castles and starry skies).

I trembled as I was being forced back into Tenten's car. It smelled of smoke and the air tasted like poison, clouding my senses and whirling my brain back into an untameable swirl. Neji was driving this time and I was squashed in the back between a overly excited Naruto and concerned Tenten.

"You're going to love it Hinata! I remember my first mission, it was insane — blood and fighting and—"

"Will you shut up!" Tenten all but yelled. "Poor girl's petrified and confused. She doesn't need _you _acting like a buffoon."

He stuck out his tongue and leaned back into the leather seat.

I turned to the girl, wide eyed and lost only to be met with soft brown eyes and a sympathetic smile.

_It's always sympathy. _

"It'll be alright, it's only a small target. New, fresh and totally an easy kill." She laughed quietly at the shock evident in my face.

"He or she has only recently been changed, they will have no true idea of how to fend for themselves. They are running purely on instinct at this point."

"What is?" I dared to ask, a meek little question in the presence of professionals – or whatever these people were.

"The vampire," Neji's voice droned from the front, laced with boredom. As though he'd heard this very conversation more times than his fingers could count. The gulp in my throat was unstoppable.

I almost _felt _Tenten roll her eyes. "The… vampire," the word was bitter and distasteful on her lips, "is still weak, so it will be easy to, uh, take down. We're here to show you the ropes of it all. Don't worry, you wont be doing any slaughtering today."

The smile on her face was daunting. I realised that the boot of the car was wide… as in _you-can-fit-a-body-in-there _wide.

"We've got plenty of ammo, Hinata, don't worry." Naruto had perked up, bouncing back quickly once again. That reassuring smile was back I place as he looked at me, sky blue eyes dancing. "I'll stay back with you while Mr and Mrs Serious do all the fun stuff."

"But give her a gun just in case." My relative's voice lacked any emotion whatsoever.

...

I lost track of where we were after twenty or so minutes of silent driving. The rain was light against the cold glass windows and I ached to touch it, rest my head against it. Anything to be rid of the god-awful headache that was rattling my skull.

My fingers roamed over the once cool metal that had turned warm from my fidgeting. The firearm itself was small and light, almost perfect for my amateur hands. Then I remembered that it was a _weapon_. Used to kill and harm and do evil things.

My stomach churned slightly, and I was grateful that it wasn't loaded.

We pulled onto a rough back road, away from the smooth tarmac, and bumped along rock and stone until we stopped. At a factory. It looked abandoned.

That should speak for itself.

I jumped when I realised that Neji was opening my door whilst digging into his pocket. He roughly grabbed my wrist and removed the gun from my hand in a rush. He loaded the bullets with a sickening crack before shoving into my grasp and slammed the door.

Naruto let out an exasperated sigh as he watched the two disappear through a dark void where a door should have been. He slouched back into the seats and closed his eyes. His nose was wrinkled, as though he was deep in thought.

I blinked slowly and heavily as everything raced by my mind, triggered by the discontent look and uneasiness that was so foreign, uncomfortable and out-of-place on his face.

He must have thought I was staring at him, for Naruto looked up and smiled a clumsy grin. It was sloppy and forced, but that didn't matter – he was trying. I felt better with some sort of reassurance.

I smiled back slightly.

Then the gunshot vibrated through the air.

"_Shit_," Naruto cursed jumping slightly. "Sounds like they've got the guy. That was fast." He laughed loudly before freezing, noticing my panicked look.

He gulped slowly, and whistled. "You don't know a thing, do you?"

I shook my head gently, not daring to break my eyes from his. It was small yet visible, the next smile — because he was _always _smiling — and filled with sympathy.

_It's always always always sympathy. _

It made my stomach churn.

"I'm not a good teacher, hell I'm a terrible student," he chuckled running a hand through thick blonde hair. "So you'll most likely get more out of Tenten, or Sakura or someone who is not me."

"A vampire… it's… they are…" he continued when I left him with silence, struggling to find the right words. "They're not all bad — just some of them — but there are others who will rip at you, mess with you and kill you for no goddamn reason."

His voice lowered, to a dark tone I didn't believe he could conjure. "They don't care what they do or who gets in their way — humans, other bloodsuckers, monsters, sprits — they'll kill _everyone_." Naruto's fist hammered down onto the leather, which softened the blow and the look in his _blue like the sky _eyes became lost and suddenly very far away, out of my reach. "They break you," he whispered.

I forced my lips to part, to say something, because he looked so hurt, _so alone_.

The look was heartbreakingly familiar.

It was something almost like what I felt all of the time.

Alone.

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**I have been neglecting this, I must admit. I wanted this chapter out by the end of July, but my house is in a depressing state right now so it was delayed slightly.  
****But thank you so much to all those who reviewed. It was your encouragement that made me want to keep writing this. **


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